New Delhi: Pakistani citizens are appalled after two human rights activists were arrested in October for ‘criticising’ the military and the intelligence agencies over several posts on X. They are now rallying in support of the couple, denouncing “overreach of the military”.
Human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha were indicted on 30 October under Pakistan’s controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). Many are calling it the case of State versus the power couple.
Mazari, a human rights lawyer, has represented victims of human rights violations and is an outspoken critic of extrajudicial killings and abductions across the state. She is also the daughter of Shireen Mazari, a former Pakistani politician who served as the Federal Minister for Human Rights under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
Ali is a criminal lawyer who represents blasphemy accused victims. He had also worked with the Asma Jahangir Legal Cell, representing victims of sexual violence, rape and enforced disappearances.
Legal overreach
In January this year, Pakistan’s parliament passed a bill to amend the controversial PECA law. The amendments grant the government sweeping powers to regulate social media. Penalties include up to three years in prison and a fine of up to PKR 20 lakh for spreading fake news. The law also prohibits sharing statements from banned organisations or their members, and broadens the definition of social media platforms to include any online information management systems.
Pakistani journalists, digital rights advocates, and civil society have long been waging a war against the PECA law. Originally passed in 2016 to combat cybercrime, it has now become the state’s primary tool to intimidate and criminalise free speech. These concerns have only grown louder with a recent wave of arrests, threats, and abductions targeting journalists.
In August 2025, the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, chaired by PTI Senator Ali Zafar, expressed alarm over the growing misuse of PECA after a Senate report revealed that a total of 689 FIRs had been registered under the law across the country — including nine against journalists. One journalist has been arrested, while seven others are reportedly outside Pakistan, Dawn reported.
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‘Asma Jahangir’s successor’
The case against the couple is based on an FIR report filed by the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCIA) in August 2025, based on their tweets that were critical of human rights violations committed by the Pakistan military.
According to Frontline Defenders, a global network of journalists, the legal proceedings against Mazari and her husband have “evidence of serious procedural irregularities and attempts to influence the outcome of the trial and their legal defence”.
It further mentions that they have been denied legal representation of their choice, the state-appointed legal defence has been attempted to be influenced, and both were forcibly arrested despite compliance with the summons. Their trial has now been shifted to 15 December.
Meanwhile, civil society has risen up in arms against their unjust trial. Aurat March announced protests in Islamabad, and journalists and activists have rallied behind them. Even Pakistanis who do not agree with Mazari have called out the move.
There are a few women in this country who deserve our unequivocal support as much as @ImaanZHazir. She is perhaps the most deserving successor of Asma Jahangir’s legacy. There is no issue of conscience she has not put herself on the line for at great personal cost,” former journalist Maria Amir wrote on X.
Jahangir was one of Pakistan’s most prominent human rights lawyers and activists, who co-founded and chaired the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch also published a letter in solidarity with the couple.
‘For years, Imaan and Hadi have been at the forefront of human rights advocacy—amplifying marginalised voices and speaking out against all forms of injustice and atrocities.The fabricated case brought against them, exposes the oppressive tactics of the state and highlights how easily the justice system can be used to target those who defend fundamental rights,” the letter stated.
Last month, an international jurist’s body even published an open letter condemning the “ongoing judicial harassment” of the couple.
“The ongoing trial is part of a broader troubling trend of judicial harassment aimed at exhausting the lawyers’ time and resources, discrediting their work, and obstructing their ability to represent victims of state violence,” the letter said.
It further added that, “these cases also appear to lack both legal and factual basis and are clearly related to their exercise of the right to free expression.”
“We have reached a point where the military’s role in overthrowing governments, controlling the judiciary, muzzling the media, and abducting dissidents is deemed legitimate while tweeting against these acts is considered a threat to national security,” politician and activist Ammar Ali Jan added on X.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)